Mumbai: Indian benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE’s Nifty 50 surged to their fresh record highs on Thursday led by gains in banking stocks buoyed by RBI announcement to transferred Rs 50,000 crore of surplus to the Indian government. In intraday trade, the Sensex rose 188.67 points to a new all time high of 38,076.23 and the Nifty 50 rose 45.2 points to a fresh record high of 11,495.20. Meanwhile, FPIs purchased on net basis shares worth Rs 568.63 crore on Wednesday, while DIIs bought Rs 30.25 crore of shares, showed provisional data. In global markets, European shares slid while US futures edged higher after a mostly positive session in Asia that saw Chinese equities shrug off the latest escalation in US-China trade war. Oil prices held losses near a seven-week low as China vowed to retaliate against the US administration’s latest tariffs. Here are the highlights from the markets:

3.35 pm IST Closing bell: Sensex, Nifty close at fresh record highsBSE Sensex closed higher by 136.81 points, or 0.36%, to 38,024.37, while the Nifty 50 rose 21.60 points, or 0.19%, to close at 11,471.60. In intraday trade, the Sensex rose 188.67 points to a new all time high of 38,076.23 and the Nifty 50 rose 45.2 points to a fresh record high of 11,495.20.BSE MidCap and SmallCap gained 0.59% and 0.29%, respectively. Among the sectoral indices on BSE, realty, bankex, metal, power and finance led gains, while telecom, consumer durables, healthcare and capital goods declined.ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, SBI, NTPC and Vedanta were among the top gainers, whereas Bharti Airtel, ONGC, Titan, Kotak Bank and Cipla were among the major losers.

3.20 pm IST Excel Industries shares dive 5% after Q1 earningsExcel Industries Ltd shares fell 5% to Rs 1656.35 after the company reported a profit of Rs 38.86 crore in the quarter ended 30 June, compared to a profit of Rs 7.87 crore a year ago.Revenue from operations stood at Rs 191 crore in the June quarter, compared to Rs 135 crore in the same period last year.

2.53 pm IST Finance stocks lead market gainsIndian financial stocks outperform other sectors, with shares of the biggest banks leading gains on the NSE and BSE. Nifty’s banking index was up about 1%, while Nifty PSU bank index rose about 3%. State Bank of India was up 2.3%, ICICI Bank 5% and Punjab National Bank up 3%. The RBI on Wednesday transferred Rs 50,000 crore of surplus to the Indian government, more than the Rs 45,000 crore the finance ministry had budgeted for FY2018-19. The money will help the government to step up public spending, improve tight cash conditions and cool bond markets“The surplus return is positive because it will improve the fiscal mathematics of the government,” said Siddharth Sedani, vice president and head of equity advisory at Anand Rathi. “Banks will benefit from this because it will help improve treasury income,” he added indicating the impact of better cash conditions on bond yields. The 10-year benchmark bond yield was down 3 bps to 7.75% from previous close on higher dividend transfer and lower global crude prices. Reuters

2.45 pm IST Gold remains weak on muted demand, global cuesGold prices dipped by Rs 5 to Rs 30,560 per 10 grams at the bullion market due to tepid demand from local jewellers and a weak trend overseas. However, silver recovered by Rs 55 to Rs 38,970 per kg on scattered enquiries from industrial units and coin makers. Marketmen said subdued demand from local jewellers and retailers at the domestic spot market amid weak global cues kept gold prices lower. Globally, gold fell 0.20% to $1,211.10 an ounce and silver slipped 0.29% to $15.36 an ounce in Singapore. PTI

2.15 pm IST Oil prices hold loss near 7-week low as US-China trade war escalatesOil prices held losses near a seven-week low as China vowed to retaliate against the US administration’s latest tariffs, raising trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies. Futures in New York were little changed after sliding 3.2% on Wednesday. Read more

2.00 pm IST Sebi in process to develop interoperability framework for clearing corpsMarkets regulator Sebi is in the process of putting in place a framework for interoperability among clearing corporations, a move that will reduce trading cost. At present, different bourses have their own clearing corporations, which handle settlement of trades on the respective stock exchanges. The interoperability would permit trading members to clear trades through a firm of their choice instead of going through the clearing corporation owned by the bourse on which the trade was executed. PTI

1.38 pm IST NCLT to hear insolvency proceedings against JaypeeIn a setback to the Jaypee group, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Allahabad, to deal with insolvency proceedings against Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL), and barred the group and its promoters from participating in fresh bidding process. Read more

1.25 pm IST European shares retreat as trade fears, sanctions on Russia weighEuropean shares retreated across a number of sectors as a new batch of corporate earnings triggered sharp price swings but failed to dispel fears about a tense geopolitical context with the China-US trade tensions and new sanctions against Russia. The on-going corporate season also prompted steep moves among companies publishing second-quarter results. The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.4% with heavy losses in Paris and London where the CAC 40 and the FTSE both slipped 0.6%. Reuters

1.10 pm IST Page Industries shares rise 4% after Q1 resultsPage Industries Ltd shares rose as much as 4.015 to Rs 31,500. The company reported a profit of Rs 124 crore in the quarter ended 30 June, compared to Rs 85.3 crore a year ago. June-quarter revenue from operations rose to Rs 815 crore in the quarter from Rs 697 crore in the same period last year. The company has also declared an interim dividend of Rs 41 per share.

1.03 pm IST Q1 earnings: Varun Beverages, Apar Industries■ Apar Industries Ltd shares dived 4.79% to Rs 575 after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 29 crore in the June quarter, compared to Rs 38.96 crore a year ago. Consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 1,496 crore in the quarter, compared to Rs 1,424 crore in the same period last year.■ Jiya Eco-Products Ltd shares rose 7% to Rs 129 after the company posted a profit of Rs 5.29 crore in the quarter ended 30 June, compared to Rs 4.53 crore a year ago. June-quarter revenue from operations stood at Rs 36.62 crore, compared to Rs 35.79 crore in the same period last year.■ Varun Beverages Ltd shares fell as much as 2.59% to Rs 741.80 after the company reported a net profit after tax of Rs 307 crore in the quarter ended 30 June, compared to Rs 246 crore a year ago. * Total income from operations stood at Rs 2,097 crore in the June quarter, compared to Rs 1,934 crore in the same period last year. The company has also recommended an interim dividend of Rs 2.5 per share.

12.27 pm IST Bajaj Electricals profit doubles in Q1Bajaj Electricals Ltd reported a net profit Rs 40.53 crore in the quarter ended 30 June, compared to Rs 20.5 crore last year. The company’s total income from operations came it at Rs 1,140 crore in the quarter, compared to Rs 1,029 crore in the same quarter a year ago. The company said quarter-end current order book stood at at Rs 7,657 crore. Bajaj Electricals shares rose as much as 3.68% to Rs 646, but gave up gains and traded 0.27% up at Rs 624.75.

11.57 am IST National Aluminium shares surge 8% after Q1 resultsShares of National Aluminium Co. Ltd jumped as much as 8.2% to an eight-week high of Rs 72.9 after the company reported an over five-fold rise in its first-quarter profit, helped by higher revenue and one-off income. Revenue surged over 55% in the quarter. The company had one-time income of Rs 91.01 crore. The stock posts its biggest intraday pct gain in nearly four months. More than 14.2 million shares change hands, compared with 30-day average of 10.5 million shares. Reuters

11.28 am IST ICICI Bank shares surge 8%, hit over six-month highShares of ICICI Bank Ltd on Thursday surged as much as 8.6% after the lender clarified to exchanges that it has made full disclosures about its loans and non performing assets in its annual report, investor presentations and analysts calls. However, the bank was silent on its accounting policy changes from previous year, which required by accounting standard norms.

10.57 am IST Cipla hits near 9-mth high on Q1 resultsIndia’s third-largest drugmaker by market capitalisation Cipla Ltd’s shares rose as much as 4.7% in early trade to Rs 662.5, its highest since November 2017. The company reported a Q1 profit of Rs 451 crore, beating estimates, helped by strong growth in the domestic market. The Cipla stock is among top percent gainers on NSE index. More than 2.5 million shares traded as of 9.41am, compared with 30-day average volume of 2.4 million.“While Cipla has a strong India/SA (south Africa) business, which is seeing steady growth, the key driver going forward is US ramp-up where execution has been below expectations,” said Jefferies analysts.Citi analysts remained positive on the company’s ability to outperform most peers on earnings, given its strong branded business, low vulnerability to U.S. pricing and improving quality of launches. Citi maintained “buy” with PT of Rs 690.26 of 38 brokerages rate the stock “buy” or higher, ten “hold” and two “sell” or lower; their median PT is Rs 620. Reuters

10.35 am IST BPCL, HPCL shares rise after Q1 resultsShares of Indian state-controlled oil refining and marketing companies Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd climbed as much as 3.6% and 2.6%, respectively. HPCL posted an 86% jump in Q1 profit, while BPCL reported a three-fold rise in Q1 profit as both benefited from strong refining margins. HPCL’s stock had dropped 32.5 pct and BPCL had fallen 25.19 pct this year, as of last closes.“Refining margins have shown signs of normalisation and crude discounts have risen, retail fuel margins have risen and discounts on digital payments have boosted marketing margins by about 12%,” said Morgan Stanley. “In this backdrop, we see an improving earnings trajectory for oil marketers for the rest of FY 19.” Of 36 analysts covering HPCL, 25 rate the stock “buy” or higher, 4 at “hold” and 7 at “sell” or lower; the median price target is Rs 373.50, shows Thomson Reuters data.Of 35 analysts covering BPCL stock, 26 rate it “buy” or higher, 4 “hold” and 5 “sell” or lower; median PT is Rs 490. Reuters

10.08 am IST Sensex, Nifty extend record runBSE Sensex traded higher by 116.91 points, or 0.28%, to 38,004.47, while the Nifty 50 rose 26.05 points, or 0.23%, to 11,476.05. In early trade, the Sensex rose 162.56 points to a new all time high of 38,050.12 and the Nifty 50 rose 45.2 points to a fresh record high of 11,495.20.BSE MidCap and SmallCap gained 0.62% and 0.58%, respectively. All the sectoral indices on BSE, except telecom, traded higher led by realty, bankex, healthcare and finance.ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, SBI and Cipla were among the top gainers, whereas Bharti Airtel, Maruti, HDFC Bank and Kotak Bank were among the major losers.

9.43 am IST RCom shares gain for 8th sessionShares of Reliance Communications Ltd gained for the eighth consecutive session and rose 34% in this period after the Supreme Court on 3 August approved the settlement arrived at between RCom and Ericsson India Pvt Ltd over a payment dispute, and asked the Anil Ambani-led firm to pay Rs 550 crore to the Indian arm of the Swedish firm by September 30. The stock was trading at Rs 18.78, up 3%.

9.20 am IST Sensex, Nifty hit fresh record highsBSE Sensex rose 162.56 points to a new all time high of 38,050.12 and the Nifty 50 rose 45.2 points to a fresh record high of 11,495.20.

9.17 am IST Midcaps, smallcaps recover but may not have found their lost charm yetAlthough the mid-cap and small-cap indices continue to underperform the benchmark on a year-to-date basis, they have recovered from this year’s lows. These indices have surged 7.6% and 8.3%,respectively, from then: Read more

9.13 am IST Rupee, bond prices rise after RBI announces dividend paymentThe Indian rupee and bond prices gained after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced payment of Rs 50,000 crore dividend to government, helping the centre to stick its fiscal road map. Overnight, a drop in the crude oil prices also supported the rally. At 9.10am, the rupee was trading at 68.47 a dollar, up 0.24% from its previous close of 68.63. The currency opened at 68.47 a dollar and touched a high of 68.46.

8.55 am IST Opening bell: Cues to look out for before trading today■ Overnight US stocks closed mostly lower tracking weak earnings. Tracking the cues S&P 500 lost 0.03% to 2,857. Asian stocks opened subdued.■ Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) posted an 86% jump in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, riding on strong refining margins.■ Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) shut a hydrocracker unit at its Chembur refinery in Mumbai on Wednesday evening following a fire that left 40 people injured. Read more. ■ The promoters of Essel Propack, the specialty packaging company, is exploring to sell their controlling interest in the company as consolidation grips the sector, reports The Economic Times.■ Punjab National Bank (PNB) said it is in negotiation with a few government departments, including income tax and central excise, to sell its erstwhile headquarters situated at the Bhikaji Cama Place in New Delhi, reports PTI.■ Earnings today: Bharat Forge Ltd, Aurobindo Pharma Ltd, Cummins India Ltd, Eicher Motors Ltd, Jet Airways (India) Ltd, Page Industries Ltd, and Whirlpool of India Ltd are some of the companies that will release their earnings for the June quarter today.(R. Sree Ram/Mint)